The present invention relates to methods and devices used to display information. More particularly, the invention relates to the display of information using configurable arrangements of interface components
Patient monitors, computers, and similar devices present information on a monitoring device or monitor such as a CRT display, flat panel display, or similar device. The image displayed on the monitor is often incorporated in a graphical user interface (xe2x80x9cGUIxe2x80x9d), which may include one or more windows, icons, buttons, menus, and similar control elements that may be selected using a variety of mechanisms such as a pointing device or a stylus.
Generally, GUIs are made up of a set of components. A user-definable description of the set of components, the attributes of the components, and the arrangement of the components is referred to as a xe2x80x9clayout.xe2x80x9d In patient monitoring applications, the components of a GUI often include parameter blocks, which display real-time information about patient vital signs and provide controls for adjusting the display of that information; waveform windows, which display vital sign waveforms in real time and provide controls for adjusting the display of the waveforms; control buttons assigned various functions; and case timers for timing activities. In many patient monitoring systems, GUIs are configured such that all components in a layout are displayed even if the function or activity associated with that component is not in use. For example, if a GUI is configured to display blood pressure, temperature, blood oxygen level, and an electrocardiogram (xe2x80x9cECGxe2x80x9d) waveform, but only blood pressure, blood oxygen level, and temperature are being monitored, the component associated with the ECG waveform is still displayed by the GUI (although the unused component is usually displayed in a disabled form).
The active components in a GUI change between phases of diagnoses and treatment. Changes are also likely to occur when there is a change in the care unit in which the patient is monitored, change in the type of care unit in which the monitoring system is used, change in the type of medical procedure being carried out, or other similar change. Further, different users (surgeons, anesthesiologists, general practitioners, nurses, etc.) often monitor different patient information. Thus, the active components in a GUI change frequently.
It would be preferable, if the layout of the GUI changed with the needs of users and the stage of medical treatment. However, present information monitoring systems that use configuration arrangements of interface components lack this capability. The invention provides a method and an apparatus for automating the change of the layout of a GUI for an information monitoring system. The system determines the active or currently used components of the current layout and monitors the system to detect changes in the system""s capabilities (e.g., an additional sensor is added) or changes in the system""s environment (e.g., a switch is made from one medical procedure to another). After detecting one or more changes in the system, the system reviews a group of available layouts and determines which, if any, more closely matches the system as changed. If an available layout more closely matches the changed system, then the system may implement an automatic change or switch of the layout or prompt the user to change the layout by presenting a selection of layout options. Alternatively, the system may do nothing upon the occurrence of a change or it may check a system threshold. If the system is configured to check the threshold, it will not implement a layout switch until the threshold is exceeded by a value based upon the correspondence between the changed system and one of the available layouts.
A layout change can encompass a change of an overall layout (a layout with multiple, and usually different components), a change of a sub-layout (a more specialized version of an overall layout), a change of a waveform window (a component designed to illustrate waveforms), or a change of a parameter block (a component designed to show non-waveform information).